Contentious battle brewing over busy West Seattle corridor

One of West Seattle’s busiest streets has sparked petitions both for, and against, slower speeds and a redesign.

The three-mile 35th Avenue SW has the fourth highest vehicle-related death count in the past decade, according to the city of Seattle.

Tell us about a chokepoint

In an effort to slow down drivers and make it safer for pedestrians, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is studying two plans for a redesign of 35th Avenue SW. Both plans call for lowering speed limits and reducing lanes on a portion of the roadway.

But not everyone agrees with the city’s plans.

A petition on change.org is asking the city not to decrease the number of lanes or the speed limit. The argument against the change is that it is the primary north-south arterial road in West Seattle and a main transit corridor. And higher traffic volume is to be expected with new housing projects shooting up around the area.

“We believe that the current speed limit and lane numbers are appropriate for this high-volume corridor,” the petition states. The petition had 741 signatures as of Monday morning.

The city’s plan to reduce the speed limit on 35th Avenue and reduce the amount of lanes in the southern end of the corridor follows five pedestrian fatalities in 10 years and a petition by West Seattle Greenways to make the roadway safer.

The petition to make the roadway safer was created after the death of a 69-year-old man who was crossing the street near SW Graham. That petition has 835 supporters.

Opposition to the city’s proposal for 35th Avenue is something that frustrates Jim Curtin, the traffic safety coordinator for SDOT.

“This drives me crazy, to be honest,” Curtin said.
The petition against the changes is filled with factual inaccuracies, he said. The petition calls out the city for not having enough data to make a decision, but Curtin said there’s data for every corridor.

According to Curtin, the person who created the petition even admitted to not having fully read the proposal before its creation.

“I think that petition was started before the people had a complete story,” Curtin said.

The roadway is fourth for fatalities, behind Rainer Avenue, Aurora, and Lake City Way, according to the city’s data.

“On 35th, pedestrians have been taking the brunt of serious injuries,” Curtin said. “Most likely because of higher speeds.”

The plan is to lower speeds on 35th Avenue from 35 MPH to 30 MPH. Redesign of the roadway could be similar to the NE 75th Street redesign, which added a turn lane, bike lanes and new crosswalks. Plans for 35th also include adding peak-hour parking restrictions for better traffic flow, Curtin said.

A redesign of 35th works in conjunction with the city’s Vision Zero campaign, an effort to eliminate serious injuries and traffic fatalities by 2030.

The city will create models of its plans and host a walking tour before any decision is made, Curtin said. The city’s decision is expected in late June.